It’s going to be a long season in Philadelphia. When factoring in injuries the roster features one of the worst overall collections of NBA talent that we’ve seen in quite some time; it could be argued fairly easily that an expansion team would have better luck putting together a squad capable of winning more games than the Sixers will this season.

The franchise is essentially starting from scratch and that includes a first-time general manager and a first-time head coach.

This year is about building a culture and foundation for the future so a transgression that may otherwise seem minor — like a player missing practice simply because he overslept — is magnified and dissected to see if it’s a sign of a character flaw rather than an honest mistake.